Balaram Bose
Balaram Bose | |
---|---|
British India (now Kolkata, West Bengal) | |
Occupation | Foremost householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna |
Language | Bengali |
Period | 19th century |
Literary movement | Bengal Renaissance, Ramakrishna |
Spouse | Krishnabhamini Devi |
Children | Ramakrishna Bose (son) |
Relatives | Baburam Maharaj (Swami Premananda) |
Balaram Bose (December 1842 – 13 April 1890) was one of the prominent householder disciples of
Biography
Early life
Bose was born in a very prominent Vaishnavite family of
Influence of Sri Ramakrishna
Bose met Sri Ramakrishna for the first time in 1881 and apparently had asked him if God exists."Certainly he does", came the response. Sri Ramakrishna regarded Balaram Bose as one of the principal suppliers of the mother, implying that Balaram provided bulk of the food, clothing and other items for serving the devotees and the God. In
After his first meeting with Sri Ramakrishna, Balaram became a lifelong devotee. His entire family was intensely spiritual. His wife Krishna Bhavini was very dedicated to Sri Ramakrishna and the holy mother, and she was also the sister of
Balaram also named his only son after Ramakrishna.
After the passing away of the Master, Balaram would provide a small amount for his monastic brother disciples in Baranagar Math. Despite the fact that he was not well off and did not have any regular income of his own and that he depended on the sustenance provided by the family estate, he never shied away from serving Sri Ramakrishna and his devotees and followers.[citation needed]
Holy mother of
We get a picture of absolute humility and complete surrender from M's The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna in the incident where he was waiting patiently outside the house for the Master to finish his conversation with Vidyasagar for several hours, without making any endeavour to disturb the Master.[citation needed]
Legacy
There is a street in Calcutta named after Balaram Bose, called Balaram Bose Ghat Road. His ancestral house, affectionately called Balaram Mandir, is now under the ownership of Ramakrishna Mission. His ancestral house is now called Balaram Mandir. It was here that the Ramakrishna Mission Association was born-
Notes
- ^ "Balaram Basu-Lay Disciple of Sri Ramakrishna".
- ^ "পরমহংসের পদধূলিতে ধন্য বাগবাজারের 'বলরাম বসু' বাটীর রথযাত্রা".
- ^ "Lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ Sengupta, Subodh Chandra (ed.) (1988) Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (in Bengali), Kolkata: Sahitya Sansad, p.331
- ^ Sri Ramakrishna Bhaktamalika in Bengali, by Swami Gambhirananda, Udbodhan publishers
- ^ Gospels of Sri Ramakrishna, by Mahendra Nath Gupta (M), translated by Swami Nikhilananda
- ^ Lay Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna on Belur Math website
- ^ Car Festival at Balaram's House, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
- ^ Sri Ma Darshan (Bengali), volume 3, by Swami Nityatmananda, published by Sri Ma Trust, Chandigarh
Further reading
- They lived with God, by Swami Chetanananda.
- The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, by M, translated by Swami Nikhilananda
- Sri Ramakrishna Bhaktamalika (Bengali), by Swami Gambhirananda, Udbodhan Publishers